Early morning. Siping City was still immersed in the faint light of dawn when the wake-up bugle roused the military camp from slumber. within a very short time, officers and soldiers quickly woke up, dressed, and assembled rapidly on the drill ground.

The recruits lined up by battalion, company, platoon, and squad. The squad leader candidates selected from among them shouted loudly, "Count off!"

Once the attendance was confirmed, the duty NCO immediately requested instructions. After permission was granted, the troops began their running drill.

Amidst the sound of whistles, the enlisted personnel formed small squads of 40 people, arranged in 4x10 formations, and began running around the drill ground. He Rui was one of the members in this long dragon-like running column.

There was a certain gap between each squad. Commanders at various positions ordered teams to speed up or slow down based on the basic running speed and relative gap distance to maintain the stability of the entire formation. Like the ancient "rolling chariot formation," the circular column operated in an orderly manner on the not-so-spacious ground.

After participating in the two-kilometer morning run, He Rui returned to his office to continue working. Having worked for several days in a row, he was inevitably a bit tired. But He Rui was in a good mood; with just another half day of effort, he could complete the compilation of this part of the teaching materials.

The secretary assigned to He Rui categorized and placed the content according to numbers. He Rui only needed to proofread the numerical order, which was much faster than expected.

Approaching noon, He Rui finally completed the scheduled paperwork. While the young officers came to receive the manuscripts, He Rui took the opportunity to wash his hair and face and trim his nails.

"Is General Zhang coming? The Governor is dressing up so much," Cheng Ruofan asked curiously.

He Rui replied, "It's Mitsui Yasuki of the Mitsui Zaibatsu who is coming."

As He Rui expected, hearing a Japanese name, the young soldiers all frowned involuntarily.

He Rui knew the anti-Japanese sentiment in the troops was quite serious, so he smiled. "I know you don't like Japanese people, so you don't need to show your faces. Go back to work after receiving the materials."

Seeing He Rui about to leave, Cheng Ruofan hurriedly asked, "Report to the Governor. I have a question to ask. Every time I see a stupid guy, I get angry. Even though I know officers and soldiers are equal in personality, I still can't help wanting to beat and scold them. How should I solve this?"

He Rui didn't answer immediately but looked at the other young officers. Seeing everyone looking like they felt the same way, he answered, "This is a problem of psychological self-restraint. In fact, according to our recruitment standards, most recruits can complete basic training, but there may be individual differences. Moreover, most soldiers are illiterate and very unfamiliar with collective military life and standardized training. Everyone should give a certain amount of understanding." He thought for a moment and said seriously, "Beating and scolding is an outlet for officers' own incompetence and does not help solve training problems. I hope everyone can overcome this themselves and not degenerate into a warlord army like the Beiyang Army. I will propose a specific method for everyone later."

***

In the afternoon, led by the officers and soldiers who went to the train station to welcome them, Mitsui Yasuki and the previously arrived Noguchi Nobuo [^1] arrived at the entrance of He Rui's headquarters. He Rui came out to welcome them personally. Shaking hands with Mitsui Yasuki, he said warmly, "I was truly overjoyed to learn that Mr. Mitsui was coming in person."

Mitsui Yasuki smiled broadly and shook He Rui's hand vigorously. "Your Excellency is too polite. Back in Japan, I knew He-kun was by no means a creature of the pond [an ordinary person], but I didn't expect that in a mere two months, He-kun would already be like an awl breaking through the bag [revealing his talent]."

Entering the headquarters and taking seats, it was already training time. The sound of footsteps came from outside, occasionally interspersed with commands. The troops had already finished today's physical training and were now doing formation drills.

Mitsui Yasuki listened for a while. "He-kun rectifies the army and prepares for war; what a thriving scene." He paused, then smiled slightly. "Hearing that He-kun mastered Siping with lightning speed, old friends in Tokyo are very happy."

He Rui said modestly, "Gentlemen flatter me. I was merely fulfilling a soldier's duty. The Northeast is the frontier where China, Japan, and Russia meet. By mastering Siping early, I can also contribute my part to international peaceful exchanges as soon as possible."

Mitsui Yasuki nodded and said solemnly, "He-kun truly matches my mind. Our Mitsui family has always believed that for today's East Asia, only Sino-Japanese cooperation and co-existence and co-prosperity are the best policy. Among them, economic cooperation is the top priority. Coming to the Chinese mainland this time, business is secondary; I am more willing to contribute my part to He-kun's cause and Sino-Japanese economic exchange."

He Rui looked happy and gave a thumbs up in praise. "The Mitsui family truly understands great principles, worthy of being Japan's number one business family. Your Excellency's strategy is far-reaching, worthy of an Imperial elite. He admires you greatly."

Mitsui Yasuki laughed. "Naturally, we share the same path. I just wonder what needs He-kun has? My Mitsui family is willing to serve He-kun's great cause."

He Rui waved his hand repeatedly. "Not at all, not at all. Your Excellency flatters me. Please, Mr. Mitsui Yasuki, instruct me; He will naturally cooperate."

Seeing He Rui refuse to speak first, Mitsui Yasuki simply went straight to the point. "Governor He, what Japan urgently needs now is raw materials and food." As he spoke, Mitsui Yasuki took out a commercial list and handed it to He Rui.

He Rui opened it and looked. The food was mainly rice, minerals were coal and iron ore, and others included cotton, soybeans, etc.

At this time, the orderly had brought in tea and fruit. He Rui put down the list and casually picked up a piece of *Gaoliang Yi* (sorghum taffy) and handed it over. "Mr. Mitsui, we are also developing sugar beet pressing. This is a specialty of my hometown Shandong, called *Gaoliang Yi*. Would you like to try it?"

Saying so, He Rui ate a piece first. Currently, He Rui didn't have white granulated sugar, and the method for corn syrup existed only on paper. R&D could only start after the chemistry professor invited by Zhao Tianlin arrived in Siping. The sweetness came entirely from maltose, but it could still be called a sweet.

Mitsui Yasuki tried a small piece, and it wasn't clear if he liked it. Drinking a mouthful of tea, Mitsui Yasuki asked, "And the price?"

He Rui wrote a number and handed it to Mitsui Yasuki. After reading it and thinking briefly, Mitsui Yasuki asked, "I would like to visit the factory. I ask He-kun's permission."

He Rui knew he wanted a field inspection and agreed immediately. The group set off on horseback and soon met up with Wu Youping at the factory. They looked through the raw material warehouse, fuel warehouse, production workshop, and storage warehouse one by one.

Mitsui Yasuki didn't speak much; every question he asked was directed at the production process arrangement. He Rui had indeed spent some effort on the initial stage of industry recently, so he answered very easily. On the contrary, Wu Youping, who arrived midway, was somewhat nervous.

A considerable part of the population outside the pass came from Shandong, and there were also several families in Siping City who produced *Gaoliang Yi* in a scattered manner. After receiving He Rui's plan, Wu Youping found that He Rui required organization of production and smoothing out the production process. There was no requirement for output for the time being.

The taffy factory was small, and the raw material supply pressure wasn't high. It was just very cumbersome during the construction process. Wu Youping listened to the translator recount the conversation between He Rui and Mitsui Yasuki but couldn't understand their meaning, so he inevitably felt uneasy.

After the visit, Mitsui Yasuki praised, "If I didn't know Governor He graduated from the Army War College, I would believe Governor He graduated from the Tokyo University Department of Commerce. I wonder what He-kun's future plans are?"

He Rui smiled without answering and pointed ahead. "Mr. Mitsui Yasuki, do you want to walk further?"

Mitsui Yasuki was slightly stunned, then agreed readily, smiling. "Naturally, the guest follows the host's convenience; I rely on He-kun's arrangement."

The group traveled north and stopped to watch at a place more than ten *li* outside the suburbs. They saw a camp built on the wasteland. Some people wearing prison uniforms were clearing the land.

He Rui pointed to the vast wasteland. "Mitsui-kun, the Northeast has not yet undergone large-scale development. The land is vast and the population is sparse. The entire Jilin Province is very suitable for large-scale operations. This is the direction I want to develop in the future: mobilize a large amount of labor, build water conservancy projects, reclaim land to build ultra-large-scale agricultural production bases, and plant grain and cash crops on a large scale."

Mitsui Yasuki raised his eyebrows, greatly surprised. He observed carefully for a while and asked calmly, "He-kun indeed has great ambitions. I just wonder what arrangements you have for cost control and sales channels?"

He Rui pointed to the earth in front of everyone. "The land in the Northeast is fertile and has geographical advantages for large-scale intensive production. Although the initial overall investment is not low, once unit output is measured by the *mu*, it appears very advantageous compared to the traditional small-peasant economy of both China and Japan. As for sales channels," he smiled, "Sino-Japanese trade has a long history and will not end just because the European War ends."

Mitsui Yasuki pondered for a moment and probed, "I wonder if my Mitsui family can participate in the investment?"

He Rui laughed loudly. "The Mitsui family is Japan's number one zaibatsu; why bother Your Excellency with such rough and clumsy farm work?" He turned to look at Mitsui Yasuki. "I want to cooperate with Mitsui-kun in the field of agricultural product processing."

Mitsui Yasuki didn't stay long. He left by train the next day, leaving Noguchi Nobuo in Siping temporarily as the representative of the Mitsui Consortium before he left.

After sending Mitsui Yasuki off, Wu Youping asked somewhat worriedly, "Governor, Mitsui came and went in a hurry. What did he come for?"

"Just a preliminary business inspection; you don't need to overthink it."

Wu Youping was very puzzled. "Running here all the way from Japan, was it just to look around casually? Governor, what we have to do is much more than what he saw."

"What Mitsui needs is a commercial partner capable of stable cooperation. For him, seeing that we already control Siping stably and can organize production well is enough." At this point, He Rui made a small joke: "He cares about the egg, not the hen laying the egg."

Wu Youping wasn't that optimistic. He heard from Xu Chengfeng and others that there were people in Japan who advocated that Manchuria and Mongolia were Japan's lifeline, feeling that the Japanese greed was uncontrollable.

Hesitating in his heart but not saying it out loud, Wu Youping asked, "Governor, according to the resolution of the last meeting, we need to seize the time to launch rural work. The personnel for the rural survey are ready; should we send them down now?"

He Rui nodded. "Send them now. Especially for the villages on the list, the preliminary background investigation work must be detailed enough."

Hearing this, Wu Youping nodded vigorously too. "Please rest assured, Governor. All landlords colluding with black and evil forces are on the list."

***

[^1]: Noguchi Nobuo (野口信雄) - In previous chapters, the representative was named Nobi Nobita (野比大雄). The raw text here uses Noguchi Nobuo. I have used the name provided in this file for accuracy to the current text, assuming a correction or different character.